


Baby, You're A Firework

by allrounderinsane



Category: Cricket RPF
Genre: M/M, New Year's Eve, Secret Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-26
Updated: 2014-02-26
Packaged: 2018-01-13 20:38:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 6,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1240012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allrounderinsane/pseuds/allrounderinsane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Australian and English cricket teams are both in Sydney for New Year's Eve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year to our cricket family! This is my New Year’s Present to you guys – hope you like it! This story doesn’t fit into the universes of any of my other fics, but contains established Waters, Faulkley, Harson and Clarke/Cook. P.S. I think that sometimes team members who live in the city where the match is being played stay at home, rather than at the hotel with the team, but for the purpose of this fic, all of the Australian cricket team are staying at the same hotel.

It was New Year’s Eve and both the Australian and English cricket teams were in Sydney, preparing for the Fifth Ashes Test. Having arrived in the harbourside city that morning, both teams had trained at the SCG in the afternoon before returning to their hotels. The Australian cricket team gathered in the foyer of their hotel in order to have one last meeting for the year.

“Have fun tonight, but don’t go crazy,” Michael Clarke, the captain, warned, “Do remember that we are meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow”.

The members of his team nodded in agreement. Michael returned the nod, indicating that the meeting was over. The team filed off, heading towards the lifts to head back up to their rooms. Ryan Harris walked up behind the captain, ensuring his footsteps were just loud enough to get Michael’s attention.

“Yes, Ryano,” Michael stated in a calm tone.

Ryan pressed the button to indicate that they wanted the lift to take them upwards.

“You got plans?” he murmured as Mitchell Johnson came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his fellow fast bowler’s neck.

Michael swiftly nodded his head, but hoped desperately that Ryan wouldn’t ask him what his plans entailed.

“You know, if you didn’t, Mitch and I would be happy to have you as our third wheel, Pup,” Ryan confessed.

Mitchell nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” Michael murmured, turning his head to face Ryan.

The lift let out a ping to alert them that the doors would soon open. After the metal doors opened, the three of them, along with some of their teammates – Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, George Bailey and James Faulkner – stepped into the lift. Once the lift doors closed behind them, Michael pressed the button for the eleventh floor. They travelled to their floor in silence, before exiting the lift when they finally reached their level.

Michael strolled along the hallway to the left and pulled his keycard from his pocket. He inserted it into the slot above the handle. When the green lights on the metal panel flashed, Michael opened the heavy door. He walked into the neat hotel room and headed over to where his suitcase was placed in the corner of the room.

Michael unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a short-sleeved, collared light blue shirt and a pair of black trousers, as well as clean underwear and his hair gel. Laying the items out on his made bed, he headed off for a shower.

Ten minutes later, Michael headed back out into his room from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, the shower complete. Pulling the blinds shut, he dropped the towel and placed it on the bed, roughly folded in half. Michael swiftly dressed himself, then opened the blinds again to let light back into the room.

He scooped up the tub of hair gel into one hand and the towel in the other before heading back into the backroom to style his hair. Michael hung up the towel, ensuring it was neat and straight on the towel rail. After applying sufficient gel to his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror and smiled slightly. Michael turned off the light in the bathroom and grabbed his keycard from his bedside table before heading out of the hotel room.

The hallways of the hotel were surprisingly absent. He headed back towards the lift, not particularly wanting anyone to notice that he was leaving. Michael pressed the button to indicate that he wanted the lift to take him downwards and the doors sprung open not long afterwards. He entered the empty lift and pressed the button for the ground floor.

Reaching the foyer, Michael headed outside of the hotel and found himself on the street. He walked up the hill. Michael was heading to the hotel where the English cricket team were staying.


	2. Chapter 2

The two hotels were not very far away from each other. Michael reached the corner and pressed the silver button to indicate that he wanted to cross the road. He waited patiently until the red flashing man turned to green. Michael swiftly crossed the road and continued walking down the laneway beside the hotel.

He glanced around and noticed that Alastair was not already there. Michael leaned back against the rendered brick wall, folded his arms and looked down to his wrist. He noticed that he had left his watch back in his hotel room. Michael considered heading back to grab his watch, but chose against it, as he didn’t quite know what time it was (a lack of a watch helped with this) and didn’t want to leave Alastair waiting.

He wasn’t sure how long he waited in the laneway for, but although it felt like a long time, he knew that it couldn’t have been more than five minutes.

“Hello stranger,” Alastair murmured in that accent that Michael found irresistible.

The Australian glanced up from his wrists and unfolded his arms. Alastair marched across the dirty concrete over to Michael, who cupped the other man’s cheeks in his hands. Michael raised himself slightly onto his toes to allow the pair to engage in a passionate kiss. They broke away from each other’s lips and stared into each other’s eyes for a brief moment.

“My room,” Michael paused, “Or yours?”

He moved his hands off Alastair’s cheeks. Alastair glanced around for a moment and thought with a moan.

“Of course, the old man wants to stay in tonight,” the Englishman teased.

Michael giggled sheepishly and pressed his fingers along his forehead. Alastair also smiled.

“Well, if we go out, people will notice,” Michael reasoned.

Alastair mumbled, thinking about his lover’s logic.

“It’s New Year’s Eve, baby,” he whispered coyly, “Everybody will be doing their own thing”.

Michael chuckled slightly.

“And, of course, the young man wants to live dangerously,” he pointed out.

They laughed together and Alastair took Michael’s fingertips in his.

“Think about it, baby, I’ve got a really comfortable bed with a great view of the harbour and if we get hungry, we can get room service,” Alastair and Michael both stepped towards each other.

The Englishman glanced over his lover, examining him.

“But you’re all dressed up,” Alastair pointed out.

Michael murmured in acknowledgement of the other man’s words.

“Yes, baby, but wouldn’t you prefer,” he shuffled his feet forwards to diminish the space between himself and Alastair, “If I wasn’t dressed at all?”

Alastair’s ruby lips curled slightly as Michael placed a hand on his shoulder.

“That sounds good,” he admitted.

Michael walked around Alastair and started walking down to the other end of the laneway, away from the street. The Englishman watched him as he walked away, captivated by the other man.

“So what are you waiting for, young thing?” Michael questioned flirtatiously.

Alastair grinned and jogged after the Australian. He grabbed Michael’s hand and the shorter man dragged him along behind him. They reached the end of the laneway and found themselves behind the hotel where the English team were staying. Hand in hand, Alastair and Michael strolled along with smiles on their faces, away from the prying eyes of the public, the media and their teammates.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to misfielding and no-coordination for your likes. B.T.W. The cupboard is there because, when I visualised the room in my head, the cupboard was there. That is my only explanation.

As soon as the hotel room door was slammed behind them, Alastair Cook cupped Michael Clarke’s cheeks in his hands and kissed him passionately. Michael reached up and placed his keycard on top of the blue painted cupboard beside the door. Alastair walked backwards, dragging Michael along with him. He crashed into the bed and fell back against it, Michael landing on top of him.

Alastair’s hands left Michael’s cheeks and traced along the other man’s collarbone. When the Englishman’s fingertips reached Michael’s buttons, he slowly began undoing them until the Australian’s shirt was fully unbuttoned. Both of them writhed on the bed as Michael attempted to push his shirt off his body.

They finally broke away from their continuous kissing, in order to undress each other without dislocating either of their shoulders.

“You know, if I did dislocate my shoulders in attempting to undress myself, I wouldn’t play the Sydney Test,” he pointed out as he removed his shirt and unbuttoned his pants.

Alastair was lying on the bed like a snow angel. He raised a hand to his jawline and traced his fingertips along his skin.

“That’s a good point,” he murmured to himself.

Michael jumped slightly as he flopped his body down onto Alastair’s. The Englishman groaned slightly at the force of the other man jumping on top of him.

“Don’t you dare break me,” Michael murmured flirtatiously.

“By the looks of things,” Alastair replied as the Australian began undressing him, “You’re trying to break me”.

Michael chuckled as he ripped Alastair’s polo shirt off him, taking it off over his head. He began his vertical line of kisses at Alastair’s mouth and continued them down his torso to the waistband of his pants. Michael unbuttoned his pants with a mischievous grin on his face.

An hour later, they were both startled by a loud knock at the door. Michael, who was wearing pants by this stage, but was still shirtless, scrambled across the room to try and find his shirt.

“Just answer it shirtless, you’ll knock whoever it is unconscious with your utter handsomeness,” Alastair suggested, sprawled out over the bed.

Michael giggled nervously and, then suddenly feeling confident, decided to do exactly that. He opened the door to find both Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson standing at the door. They both glanced up and down the captain’s bare chest, which Michael was silently thankful for, as it meant they were not looking beyond him and would most likely not spot Alastair on the bed.

“OK, so it seems you had plans of the naked variety,” Ryan stated, slamming the door shut.

Michael turned back to Alastair with a sheepish smile on his face.

“What time is it?” Alastair queried, propping himself up onto his elbows.

Michael laughed slightly at the other man’s spontaneity.

“Let me check,” he murmured, heading into the bathroom.

Michael grabbed his watch from the vanity and glanced at the time before he fastened it to his wrist.

“Half past eight,” he called out before re-entering the room.

Alastair nodded and gazed over towards the large window.

“Only half an hour until the fireworks,” he muttered.

Michael trudged back over to the bed and lay down at Alastair’s feet.

“To me, the only fireworks I need occurred in the last hour,” he whispered, lightly rubbing Alastair’s feet.

The Englishman smiled, causing Michael to do the same.

“I love you,” the words spilled out of the Australian’s mouth unintentionally.

Alastair grinned.

“I love you too,” he replied in a way that made Michael’s heart just melt.

Alastair watched as Michael’s face fell.

“I need you to talk me through what’s meant to happen next,” he added in the tone of a nervous child.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to steviegthighs and misfielding for your likes. Please tell me if this is far too mushy and lovey-dovey for your liking.

Alastair Cook crawled down the bed and ran his hand through Michael Clarke’s hair, ending up with hair gel on his hand. He was not fussed about this and simply wiped his hand on the white bed sheets.

“Sorry,” Michael murmured sheepishly.

Alastair smiled in an unassuming fashion. He wrapped his arms around Michael’s bare chest. Alastair could feel the other man’s heartbeat throbbing against his arm. He could tell that Michael was nervous.

“I love you too,” Alastair stated calmly, “That’s what matters”.

Michael sighed loudly and nuzzled his head into Alastair’s chest. He enjoyed feeling the warmth of the other man’s body against his face. Michael hid his bewildered expression by hiding his head under Alastair’s chest.

“Look at me,” the Englishman muttered forcefully, “Don’t hide from me, baby”.

Michael unburied his head and stared into Alastair’s dark eyes. The Englishman released his grip on Michael and propped himself up on his elbows. They were so _beautiful_ and the sincerity of the Englishman’s gaze immediately made him feel more comfortable.

“This . . . us . . . means the world to me, baby,” Alastair whispered lovingly, “I want . . . I need this to last”.

Michael’s jaw dropped at the other man’s tender words. He honestly did not know how to respond. Alastair giggled and then beamed at Michael’s dazed expression. The Australian’s separated lips curved into a bemused smile.

“What are you laughing about?” he queried.

“You,” Alastair replied simply, yet smugly.

Michael glanced away in mock frustration, then looked back to Alastair, demanding an explanation with his gaze.

“You looked like a lovesick puppy caught in the headlights,” he clarified.

Michael’s blue eyes lit up with a witty realisation.

“So that’s why they call me Pup,” he quipped, pointing to the Englishman.

Alastair chuckled briefly, then ran a row of gentle kisses along Michael’s outstretched finger. The Australian continued laughing to himself.

“How about we both make a New Year’s Resolution?” Alastair propositioned after removing his soft lips from Michael’s finger.

The Australian narrowed his eyes in both confusion and anticipation.

“Let’s not be afraid,” Alastair suggested, “If you love me even half as much as I love you, you’ll realise that we can’t keep pretending that this is going to go away one day”.

Michael was once again dumbfounded at the Englishman’s words. He knew that the other man was speaking the truth, but he wasn’t completely willing to admit it – not just yet, anyway. Alastair watched Michael as he thought deeply.

“What are you thinking about, babe?” he questioned in a loving tone.

Michael exhaled loudly.

“You,” came his short reply.

Alastair did not ask Michael to elaborate. He raised his hand to the back of the Australian’s head, not thinking about the possibility of getting more hair gel on his hand. Alastair pulled Michael’s head towards his lips and planted a firm kiss on the Australian’s forehead.

“I, I agree with you,” Michael murmured as Alastair pulled away, “Sometimes I might still be a bit apprehensive, but I don’t want to be afraid”.

He breathed quickly after finishing his ramblings.

“We’re on,” Alastair agreed, “2014 will be the year of us”.

Michael beamed.

“I like the sound of that,” he muttered in an almost flirtatious tone.

The two of them were suddenly startled by a loud bang.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much to no-coordination, steviegthighs and misfielding for your likes and double thanks for six-and-out for your like and your comment.

The heads of both Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke immediately spun around simultaneously. The first thing that both of them noticed was a bright red firework exploding on the other side of the window. Without saying anything, Michael grabbed Alastair’s hand and dragged him off the bed towards the window.

He jabbed at the silver window frame and eventually slid the window open as the fireworks continued to explode. Michael and Alastair both propped their elbows up on the wide window sill and marveled at the show in the dark sky. The Australian tilted his head to the side and laid it down on Alastair’s shoulder. The Englishman grinned, the warm feelings, caused to the other man’s actions, exploding inside him like the fireworks he was looking at.

Alastair wasn’t used to feeling all lovey-dovey, but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t say anything and just marveled in the moment. Alastair felt so comfortable with Michael’s head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around the other man’s waist. They still did not speak, the loud noises of the fireworks preventing any silence.

Michael felt the cool night breeze on his face. He thought about the new year – which, admittedly, was still a couple of hours away – and what that would mean for his relationship with Alastair. Michael didn’t just like the idea of 2014 being the year of them – he _loved_ it. The dazzling fireworks display finally ended and silence crept in.

Alastair hummed, wondering what do to next. He glanced down at Michael’s face. The other man’s expression was wide-eyed and smiley, like an amazed young child. Alastair squeezed Michael a little tighter. He listened to the wind ruffling the nearby gum trees.

“I think I’m ready for this,” Michael stammered all of a sudden.

He turned to Alastair with a surprised look on his face.

“Are you sure?” the words instinctively slipped out of the Englishman’s mouth.

He cared about Michael enough that he didn’t want to pressure him into a serious, potentially not-so-secretive, relationship.

“Yes, I’m sure,” the Australian stated with conviction in his words.

Suddenly, they were kissing, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. When they finally broke away from each other, Michael beamed so much that his cheeks hurt.

“There’s a good Italian place I know, not far from here,” he murmured, “Do you want me to take you there?”

Alastair smiled at Michael’s suggestion, not allowing his surprise to show.

“Let’s get dressed and let’s go,” he murmured in an excited tone.

It was almost like a race as Alastair and Michael scrambled across the room to redress themselves. When they finally were redressed, Michael grabbed his keycard off the top of the cupboard and placed it in his shirt pocket. He then grabbed Alastair’s hand in his left hand and opened the door with his right, dragging them both out into the empty hallway.

They walked along to the lift and Michael pressed the button to indicate that they wanted to travel downwards. Holding hands, Alastair and Michael looked at each other with a mischievous smile. Finally, the doors opened and they entered the lift. Michael quickly pressed the button for the ground floor, then wrapped Alastair in his arms and kissed him once more. He had never felt freer in his entire life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to six-and-out, steviegthighs and misfielding for your likes and comments. I’ve finished the Clarke/Cook portion of this story – I hoped you liked it! I’m now moving onto other pairings   
> (Harson, Faulkley and Waters) – if there are any other people or pairings that you want me to write a NYE story for, then feel free to tell me, because I’m happy to extend this story.

It was New Year’s Eve and both the Australian and English cricket teams were in Sydney, preparing for the Fifth Ashes Test. Having arrived in the harbourside city that morning, both teams had trained at the SCG in the afternoon before returning to their hotels. The Australian cricket team gathered in the foyer of their hotel in order to have one last meeting for the year.

“Have fun tonight, but don’t go crazy,” Michael Clarke, the captain, warned, “Do remember that we are meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow”.

The members of his team nodded in agreement. Michael returned the nod, indicating that the meeting was over. The team filed off, heading towards the lifts to head back up to their rooms. Ryan Harris walked up behind the captain, ensuring his footsteps were just loud enough to get Michael’s attention.

“Yes, Ryano,” Michael stated in a calm tone.

Ryan pressed the button to indicate that they wanted the lift to take them upwards.

“You got plans?” he murmured as Mitchell Johnson came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his fellow fast bowler’s neck.

Michael swiftly nodded his head.

“You know, if you didn’t, Mitch and I would be happy to have you as our third wheel, Pup,” Ryan confessed.

Mitchell nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” Michael murmured, turning his head to face Ryan.

The lift let out a ping to alert them that the doors would soon open. After the metal doors opened, the three of them, along with some of their teammates – Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, George Bailey and James Faulkner – stepped into the lift. Once the lift doors closed behind them, Michael pressed the button for the eleventh floor. They travelled to their floor in silence, before exiting the lift when they finally reached their level.

Mitchell unwrapped his arm from around Ryan’s neck as the two of them walked off to the left. They passed Michael as the captain entered his own room and continued onto Ryan’s, which was next door. He took his keycard out of his pocket and used it to open the door. They both stepped inside and glanced around for a moment in silence.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Mitchell queried.

Ryan placed his hands on the other man’s shoulders and leaned up slightly to place a gentle kiss on Mitchell’s lips.

“Good question,” Ryan murmured when he broke away from the kiss.

They both stood there for a moment, humming slightly. Ryan removed his right hand from Mitchell’s shoulder and outstretched his arm as he swiveled around, waving his arm in a circle, pointing across the room with his fingers.

“Well, we’ve got a great view of the fireworks,” Ryan pointed out as they both glanced through the window that looked out onto Sydney Harbour.

Mitchell moaned in agreement.

“That, we do have,” he murmured.

Ryan turned back to Mitchell with a grin.

“Come here, you!” he shrieked, squeezing Mitchell, then tackling him to the bed.

They groaned and chuckled as they playfully wrestled with one another. After about ten minutes, they rolled onto their backs and panted. Mitchell stood up and examined the room around him.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed, “We’ve managed to make a mess and exhaust ourselves and we haven’t even gotten to the sexy times yet!”

Ryan chuckled at the other man’s statement. Mitchell collapsed back onto the bed and manoeuvred his body around to place himself on top of Ryan. The older man wrapped his arms around Mitchell’s neck and kissed him passionately.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to no-coordination and doktorkwakwak for your likes. Firstly, I would like to apologise to mrsdalewatson, who prefers James over Jimmy and made the effort to answer my question. I’m sorry for changing my mind on you. I did it because I found out afterwards that James Faulkner is pretty much universally known as Jimmy or Jim. Secondly, in case you haven’t noticed, these stories of the different pairings are meant to be happening all at the same time as one another, hence the repetitive bits.

Half an hour later, it was starting to get dark outside. A naked Ryan Harris walked around his hotel room, yawning. Mitchell Johnson lay on the bed under a white sheet that had become wrapped around his own naked body. Propping himself up onto his elbows, he admired the other man’s figure, fully aware that Ryan was facing the other way and could not see him.

Wearing a suspicious expression, Ryan turned his head to face Mitchell.

“Were you checking me out just them?” he queried with a wrinkled brow.

Mitchell nodded his head slowly and confidently. Ryan mumbled in response and headed over to his suitcase in the corner of the room. He bent over to unzip it and wriggled his hips around as he pulled out some fresh clothes. Mitchell giggled as Ryan spun around on one foot and ever so slowly raised one foot at a time to place them through the legs of his clean blue underwear.

“Ooh la la,” Mitchell purred, licking his lips.

Ryan swung his blue polo shirt around in the air above his head, then slowly placed it on his body. He rubbed his hands down his sides, then stepped into a pair of brown shorts and pulled them up. Ryan blew a kiss to Mitchell before fastening the button and doing up the fly of his pants.

“It’s like a reverse strip tease!” Mitchell shrieked.

Almost immediately afterwards, they hear a loud knock at the door.

“What’s like a reverse strip tease?” a voice hollered through the door.

Ryan trudged over to the door and opened it slightly. George Bailey and James Faulkner were both standing there, sporting sheepish grins. Ryan shook his head and looked down to his bare feet.

“You don’t want to know,” he stated, chuckling slightly, not willing to admit that he didn’t particularly want to tell them.

George and James both widened their eyes, indicating that they _did_ want to know.

“Let me just say that, um,” Ryan grimaced, not particularly wanting to confess what had just happened, “I was putting on clothing in a sexual fashion instead of taking it off”.

Jimmy placed his arm around George’s neck.

“So Georgie,” he queried to his teammate, ignoring Ryan, “Are we going to pester him more?”

George moaned in thought.

“I have one question,” he added.

They both turned their gazes back to Ryan and stared at him.

“Were you already clothed when you reverse strip teased?” George questioned casually.

Ryan rolled his tongue and sighed.

“No,” he groaned.

George and Jimmy laughed.

“Tell Mitch we say g’day, mate,” Jimmy added as he marched along the hallway towards the lift, dragging George along with him.

“Will do,” Ryan muttered under his breath before slamming the door shut.

With the closed door behind him, he turned back to the room and noticed the noise of the running shower.

 _Trust Mitch to use my shower while I deal with the nutters at the door_ , he thought.

“Oi, Ryano,” Mitchell called out, “Will you go to my room and get me some fresh clothes please? My keycard’s on top of the cupboard”.

Ryan grunted slightly and stepped over, across the sheets and clothes strewn all over the floor, to the doorway to the bathroom.

“Will do,” he agreed in a loud voice, “By the way, George and Jimmy say g’day”.

Mitchell stuck his head out from behind the blue shower curtain and pressed his lips together.

“My New Year’s Resolution is to get back at them,” he muttered in a tone that made Ryan guess that Mitchell would not be keeping his resolution.

Ryan chuckled and began to leave the bathroom.

“Thanks, babe,” Mitchell added casually.

His words made Ryan’s heart swell with love. He swiftly turned his head and grinned back to Mitchell, before heading off to grab the keycard.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to no-coordination, steviegthighs, lovingcricket and misfielding for your likes.

When Ryan Harris returned to his hotel room about five minutes later, he was holding fresh clothes for Mitchell Johnson, as well as the two keycards that opened the doors to their respective rooms. Mitchell was lying on the bed completely naked, with a spaced-out expression on his face. Ryan dumped the clothing on top of the other man.

“As much as I love your naked body, baby, if we’re planning on leaving the hotel, you might need to get dressed,” he advised as he headed over to his own suitcase.

Mitchell murmured in acknowledgment of Ryan’s statement and swiftly began dressing himself. The bottom half of Mitchell’s body was already fully dressed when Ryan looked up from his suitcase after pulling out his sandals.

“What?” Ryan spat out the word accusingly, “Don’t I deserve a reverse strip tease too?”

He pouted and Mitchell couldn’t help himself but find the other man’s face absolutely _adorable_.

“Sorry, baby,” Mitchell murmured flirtatiously.

He swung his shirt around above his head, then slapped his bare chest before putting the shirt on.

“Thanks, darling,” Ryan muttered in an appreciative tone while stepping into his sandals.

He placed a hand on Mitchell’s shoulder and slapped a quick kiss on the other man’s lips.

“Do you think Pup might want to come with us after all?” Mitchell queried as he put his own shoes on.

Ryan rolled his tongue in thought.

“It’d be worth a try to ask him again,” he suggested and grabbed his keycard from the top of the cupboard.

Ryan placed his keycard in his shirt pocket as Mitchell took his own keycard back and placed it in his own pocket.

“We right to go?” Ryan queried.

Mitchell nodded, prompting them to both exit the room and enter the hallway. They walked in nervous silence to the door of the room of their captain, Michael Clarke. Ryan nodded loudly on the door and they waited. They could hear people speaking on the other side of the door, but exactly what was being said was a mystery to them.

Eventually, Michael did answer the door, albeit shirtless. Both Ryan and Mitchell eyed the captain’s bare chest up and down.

“OK, so it seems you had plans of the naked variety,” Ryan stated, slamming the door shut.

He and Mitchell continued to stroll along the hallway towards the lift. Ryan pressed the button to indicate that they wanted to travel downwards. It didn’t take long for the lift to let out a ping and for the doors to spring open. They entered the lift and Mitchell pressed the button for the ground floor, before walking backwards and leaning against the back of the lift, standing next to Ryan.

“So where are we actually going to go tonight?” Mitchell questioned after the thought suddenly hit him.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders as they reached the ground floor. They left the lift and entered the foyer before he responded.

“I don’t know,” Ryan admitted.

They stood here in the foyer, motionless, without speaking, for a moment.

“Well, if we find somewhere to go for dinner, then we could maybe go back to the room to watch the fireworks,” Ryan suggested.

Mitchell nodded, then adopted a mischievous grin.

“I thought the fireworks had already occurred, baby,” he murmured flirtatiously.

Ryan smiled.

“That joke will never get old, will it?” he queried, leaning in towards Mitchell.

The other man giggled.

“Ah, no,” Mitchell replied.

Ryan smiled and grasped Mitchell’s hand as they walked out of the hotel and out onto the street.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to six-and-out and no-coordination for your likes. FYI, a ‘Botswana’ pizza isn’t a real thing, but I do know that some pizza restaurants give place names to their pizzas, so I just made one up. Bear with me.

Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson eventually found a pizza restaurant to have dinner at, which was only a few streets away from their hotel. They sat down on their chairs at opposite sides of a table in the back corner of the restaurant. Ryan fiddled with the corner of the cover of the menu that was sitting on the table, but never opened it.

“Open it, I dare you,” Mitchell uttered cheekily.

They laughed and Ryan opened the menu out to the first page. He spun it around on the table so that they could both view it from a side-on angle.

“I like the sound of that one,” Mitchell stated, pointing to one of the pizza options on the menu.

Ryan nodded as he read the list of ingredients.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he replied casually.

Mitchell tapped his fingertips on the edge of the menu’s pages.

“Well, if we both want the same thing, then we may as well share a couple’s pizza,” he suggested nervously.

Ryan nodded as a waitress strolled over towards them with a spring in her step.

“Good evening, gentlemen, are you ready to order?” she queried over-zealously.

They both nodded simultaneously.

“We’ll have one Botswana pizza, thanks, couple’s size,” Mitchell informed her calmly.

The waitress scribbled down their order.

“Would you like any drinks with that?” she asked cheerfully.

They glanced at each other for a brief moment and nodded simultaneously. Ryan and Mitchell knew each other well enough that they did not have to talk to each other to guess each other’s drink order.

“We’ll both have a glass of water, thank you,” Ryan stated simply.

The waitress wrote this down, nodded and then skipped off excitedly. Ryan and Mitchell engaged in polite conversation while waiting for their meal and drinks to arrive. They primarily talked about cricket and what the next few days would bring. Eventually, the same bubbly waitress who had taken their order returned with two glasses of water and one Botswana couple’s pizza.

Mitchell’s eyes briefly darted across the table along his and Ryan’s empty plates, as well as the pizza between them. He took a slice of pizza and placed it on Ryan’s plate. Without speaking, Ryan also took a slice of pizza and placed it on Mitchell’s plate. They both smiled at each other sheepishly yet lovingly. Ryan and Mitchell started eating their slices of pizza, their glances doing all the talking required.

“This is good pizza,” Ryan commented when he finished his first slice.

Mitchell nodded as he chewed on his last mouthful of his pizza slice. Ryan began picking at the pizza, pulling off cubes of pineapple and capsicum and placing them in his mouth. Mitchell giggled. He took the slice of pizza that Ryan was busily disassembling from the tray and placed it on the other man’s plate.

“That’s yours, my dear,” Mitchell informed him in a jokey, yet sincere tone.

Ryan smiled, nodded and continued to pick the toppings off the pizza and eat them separately. Mitchell took another slice of pizza for himself and swiftly ate it as he watched Ryan with intrigue. Once the older man had picked all of the toppings off his pizza, he then ate the pizza base by itself.

“Is that pizza any better when it’s eaten all separately?” Mitchell queried.

Ryan laughed and looked down to the plate in front of him.

“Maybe,” he murmured, “Do you want to try it?”

Mitchell glanced out the front window of the restaurant and thought.

“Alright,” he agreed.

There were two slices of the pizza remaining and both Ryan and Mitchell began picking the toppings off their respective slices. They looked over to each other and laughed lovingly. Mitchell moaned with pleasure.

“Good pizza,” he added before placing a strip of onion into his mouth.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to steviegthighs and no-coordination for your likes. I’m not sure if the actual thing of a ‘couple’s pizza’ exists, but for the sake of this story, it does and is considered a significant thing in the progression of a relationship. Again, bear with me. This is the last Harson chapter and it’s a little bit shorter than the others.

About fifteen minutes later – after finishing their drinks and paying for their meal – Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson left the restaurant and wandered down the street on the way back to their hotel.

“We need to talk,” Ryan mumbled nervously.

Mitchell placed his arm around the other man’s shoulders.

“What about, babe?” he queried casually.

Ryan sighed and glanced around sheepishly.

“We shared a couple’s pizza for the first time,” he admitted, “This is a significant step in our relationship”.

Mitchell looked around as the implication of what they had done suddenly hit him. He squeezed Ryan’s shoulder a little tighter.

“We did,” he muttered with a confused sigh.

They continued walking in silence until they reached the hotel. They entered the foyer, travelled to their floor in the lift and finally entered Mitchell’s room, which was further along the hallway from Ryan’s. Ryan flopped down onto Mitchell’s bed with a sigh.

“We shared a couple’s pizza,” he stated, “That’s commitment, man”.

Mitchell flopped down onto the bed beside Ryan. He placed his hand on top of the other man’s and they grasped hands.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Mitchell questioned innocently.

Ryan sighed as he thought. He didn’t quite know the answer. However, he then uttered the answer he ultimately wanted to be true.

“It’s a good thing,” Ryan mumbled.

He turned his gaze to Mitchell with bright and widened eyes.

“I love you,” Ryan said.

“I love you too,” Mitchell replied.

When their lips met in a kiss, they saw, felt and heard fireworks. They wrapped their arms around each other, cuddling as they passionately kissed. When they finally required a breath, they broke away from the kiss, giddy with happiness. They let go of one another and, holding hands, walked over to the window to watch the fireworks exploding on the other side.

Ryan and Mitchell rested their heads on each other’s shoulders and just watched in amazement. After about fifteen minutes, the fireworks finished and they retreated back to the bed. Ryan and Mitchell snuggled in each other’s arms, ignoring the hot summer climate which would commonly make such an embrace uncomfortable.

“I love it when you hold me,” Ryan rambled, speaking his exact thoughts.

Mitchell smiled and pressed a firm kiss to Ryan’s forehead.

“I love holding you,” he responded warmly.

Mitchell and Ryan squeezed on each other’s abdomens a little bit tighter.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m moving onto the Faulkley section of this story. This chapter is a bit short, I’m afraid. Sorry about that.

It was New Year’s Eve and both the Australian and English cricket teams were in Sydney, preparing for the Fifth Ashes Test. Having arrived in the harbourside city that morning, both teams had trained at the SCG in the afternoon before returning to their hotels. The Australian cricket team gathered in the foyer of their hotel in order to have one last meeting for the year.

“Have fun tonight, but don’t go crazy,” Michael Clarke, the captain, warned, “Do remember that we are meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow”.

The members of his team nodded in agreement. Michael returned the nod, indicating that the meeting was over. The team filed off, heading towards the lifts to head back up to their rooms. George Bailey and James Faulkner were walking behind Ryan Harris, who was walking up behind the captain, ensuring his footsteps were just loud enough to get Michael’s attention.

“Yes, Ryano,” Michael stated in a calm tone.

Ryan pressed the button to indicate that they wanted the lift to take them upwards.

“You got plans?” he murmured as Mitchell Johnson came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his fellow fast bowler’s neck.

Michael swiftly nodded his head.

“You know, if you didn’t, Mitch and I would be happy to have you as our third wheel, Pup,” Ryan confessed.

Mitchell nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” Michael murmured, turning his head to face Ryan.

The lift let out a ping to alert them that the doors would soon open. After the metal doors opened, the three of them, along with some of their teammates – Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, George and Jimmy – stepped into the lift. Once the lift doors closed behind them, Michael pressed the button for the eleventh floor. They travelled to their floor in silence, before exiting the lift when they finally reached their level.

George and Jimmy headed straight ahead and entered George’s room, which was directly across from the lift.

“So, what are we going to do tonight, Georgie?” Jimmy queried, lying down on the other man’s bed.

George sat down on the bed at Jimmy’s feet and sighed.

“You can pick,” he suggested, “I don’t mind”.

Jimmy sighed in thought, cupping his hands around his own chin. He glanced over towards the window.

“We’ll have a great view of the fireworks when the time comes,” Jimmy mentioned.

George nodded and bounced on the bed.

“I don’t know, do you want to paint the town red?” Jimmy asked.

George lay back against the bed, using Jimmy’s feet as a pillow. He turned his head to face the other man.

“Maybe we should just grab a bite to eat, then head down to the harbour and see what’s happening,” George suggested.

Jimmy nodded and yawned.

“Are you tired, babe?” George questioned sweetly.

Jimmy yawned again as he nodded.


End file.
